Minimum mark 60%
Level Undergraduate
Language/s English
Agreement Scope University-wide exchange, check with your department regarding compatibility with your degree programme
Exchange Places Places for 2025/26 tbc. Chemistry students can apply for the VIRS programme
University of British Columbia - Vancouver Information for Exchange students
About:
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university, established in 1908 making it British Columbia's oldest university. It currently has over 45,000 students studying at the Vancouver campus.
Contacts at UBCV:
Ms Alexandra Wai, go.global@ubc.ca
Go Global: International Learning Programs, The University of British Columbia, 1100- 6138 Student Union Boulevard (UBC Life Building), Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6T 1Z
Highlights:
In the 2020 Academic Ranking of World Universities rankings, the university ranked 38th in the world and second in Canada. The 2020 Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked the University 34th in the world, and second in Canada. In the 2020 U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking, the university ranked 31st in the world and second in Canada.
Location:
More than 400 hectares in size, the stunning campus in Vancouver is surrounded by forest on three sides and ocean on the fourth, and is just a 30 minute bus ride to Vancouver's downtown core. The campus has been located on this site for most of its 100-year history; a location that is the traditional territory of the Musqueam people.
Courses / Modules:
Most single-semester courses are a 3-credit course (equivalent to 3 hours of lectures per week for 13 weeks, with an additional 2-week examination period). You will normally be taking second or third year courses at UBC. Students should consult with their department when selecting their courses
Credit (Full-time Load per semester):
15 UBC Credits = 60 York Credits
This has been calculated by the University of York and students should not compare it with the requirements of other universities. Taking insufficient credits can lead to students failing the year. Any alteration to credits/modules must be discussed with your department prior to making any changes.
Teaching Periods:
Term 1 - September to December
Term 2 - January to April
Language:
Classes at UBC are taught in English.
You may be required to provide evidence of your English language ability if English is not your first language.
Accommodation:
On-Campus: A limited number of rooms are reserved for exchange students. Due to high demand, on-campus housing for Term 1 exchange is not guaranteed; in fact, about 53% of Term 1 only exchange students will receive on campus housing. There is guidance for students regarding costs related to studying in Vancouver. UBC Housing usually contacts students in June/July via email with information about their residence placements for September.
Orientation / Welcome week:
UBC hold an orientation, called Imagine
Support Services:
UBC offer a variety of services under the banner of Health and Wellbeing including mental health and counselling.
Visas:
UBC offer guidance on immigration and the documents required.
Health insurance:
UBC provide full details of the health insurance requirements for international and exchange students.
Travel insurance:
If you are approved by the University of York to participate in this program, you will be covered by the University's Travel Insurance Policy. This is a complimentary policy to cover you for the duration of your University of York mobility experience. Please refer to the Insurance website for all travel insurance queries. You may be required to obtain health insurance valid during your exchange.
Ellie, History, Year Abroad 2018/19
My experience has changed me in that it has made me more confident to deal with challenges on my own and has made me more independent. I don’t think that I would have developed this confidence whilst staying in York as when I went to UBC, I knew nobody there. I had to forge entirely new relationships and navigate new places without familiar faces to fall back on. As a result of this, I have made some amazing friends that I had some brilliant experiences with. I became more outgoing, more willing to try new things and generally improved as a person. My experience has been, in one word, amazing. I loved learning about new topics, in subjects that I would not have access to at York, which has influenced the direction that I think I am taking my postgraduate work, as I am now considering take a Masters in Egyptology and pursuing a career path in that field. I also loved seeing new locations and travelling with my friends and with the Exchange Student Club to places that I would probably not have got to see on my own. I tried surfing for the first time and have gotten into hiking as a result of these trips. I loved being at UBC and I miss it very much, but I am so, so glad that I got to be there.
Kirsten, Politics, Year Abroad 2019/20
My experience abroad changed me so much! I really enjoyed the chance to go somewhere I had never been and have a completely fresh start. The university is large and has amazing professors, and I loved the classes I took, which would not have been on offer at York. It really helped me to figure out where my interests lie and what I might want to do in the future. The experience is really what you make it and knowing I had a limited amount of time abroad (which turned out to be more limited than I thought!) really pushed me to make the most of it and seek out new experiences, which is a habit that will benefit me back in York too. Overall I am much more confident now and feel that my future is not limited to opportunities in the UK.
Please note: these tips have been provided by students who have studied abroad in Canada - Global Opportunities recommends that you use these as a guide only and do your own research on what is best for you.
Money and Banking:
Canadian Bank account and also an International travel card
It is absolutely a good idea to open a bank account in your host country to prevent losing money through fees for spending money abroad. For Canada specifically, Scotiabank is perhaps the best option due to the unique advantages they give to international students such as no monthly charges (which is a standard for most banks)
I got a Monzo account before I left for Canada, which doesn't charge any fees for international transactions, so I could basically just use it as a normal bank account. It also registered on most Canadian tills as a credit card which was useful as some places in Canada don't take debit. Overall I found this worked really well and I didn't regret not setting up a Canadian bank account.
Staying Connected:
EE let contract users pay extra to use their minutes and data while abroad
I didn't buy a new phone or SIM card because my current SIM allowed me to use data roaming in Canada without extra charges. It is definitely a good idea to either get a new SIM in the UK that provides this (O2 is a good option), or to get a new SIM in your host country because otherwise you would either be unable to use mobile data, or the charges will mount up quickly. Getting a Canadian SIM may actually be the better option because it was often inconvenient or impossible to input a British phone number whenever needed to.
I got a new SIM card once I arrived in Canada from the phone shop on campus in the Student Nest, which I mostly used for data. It was easy to set up and cancel.
Food:
I'm not sure if I have a favourite place because I made a conscious effort to mix up where I would order food from. Vancouver is a very diverse city so a wide variety of food options are available with Japanese and Chinese food especially good, but other food like Indian or South-East Asian cuisine are also widely available. That's not to mention Canadian food like poutine which is also widely available (and very tasty). In terms of standards like pizza, Uncle Fatih's is perhaps the best option on campus, while A&W is a good standard fast food chain which also offer their own root beer, which led to me developing a taste for it and missing it since returning.
I couldn't pick just one food place, Vancouver has so many! There's something for everyone and so many different cuisines. For food shopping, No Frills is the cheapest option but might not have everything in stock, and Safeway is a little more expensive but has a selection more like your average Tesco. Both are reachable by bus. There's also a save on foods on campus, which you can walk or get the bus to, which again has a wide selection but is very expensive.
On campus: Aroma cafe, but downtown the best restaurant by far was Sugo, a small Italian restaurant that I miss more than anything else. (YorkU, Toronto)
Paperwork and bureaucracy:
This is something which is best to deal with as soon as possible to keep it off your mind and allow you to fully enjoy your time. Keeping a list of what you need to do and when. is of course a great idea. I found a good thing to do was to do and prepare as much paperwork as possible before leaving. It is also a good idea to set a day where you will deal with as much as possible during the summer. A lot of paperwork is needed for your Study Permit application for example and it can be quite time consuming, so setting aside a day to just sort it out is not a bad idea.
UBC was pretty helpful in giving us checklists of everything that we needed to do. I applied for my student permit and went to give my bio-metrics before leaving for Canada and made sure to have all the possible documents that I might need for immigration. The process was pretty easy once I arrived to get my student permit, it just involved a long queue at the airport! Once arriving, the most important thing is to register for the healthcare system to ensure you'll be covered appropriately. We were given talks about this on imagine day, which gave exchange students an introduction to life at UBC, so it was clear what we needed to do.
What I wished I'd known...:
It will not always be loads of fun and not every day will be like a coming of age movie. I had some of the best days of my life in Canada and I met wonderful people but I also had some of the worst days. Without the mental health services offered at the university I might have come home early. I wish I had known that I would have such low points so I didn't feel so guilty about not enjoying every single minute.
The pandemic is obviously top of the list for this year, but I do think it links to other things in general that I wished I had known. That being, do not wait to try out new experiences or to visit certain places. While most years probably won't be interrupted early in such a way, it is nevertheless a good idea to seize the moment because this may be a once in a lifetime experience. I would tell my past self that if I'm ever on the fence if I want to go out and do something on one day to just do it and don't put things off until later.
For Vancouver specifically, it is amazing city that I would recommend to anyone but I do wish I had realised just how much it rained there. I had been told it rained a lot, but that doesn't prepare you for a solid month of almost none-stop heavy rain as was seen this winter. Linked to my previous point, it is a good idea to seize the opportunity to do weather dependent activities during the first few months before the rainy season begins in late October.
I would probably say not to put too many expectations on the first few weeks; it might take a little while to find your closest friends and feel like you've really settled in but it will happen! Personally I'm so glad I went on the exchange club trip organised early in the term as it really helped me to get to know the people that would become my best friends from exchange.
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